Chapter XVII – Decisions,
Decisions… Part II
Late afternoon/early evening
“Excuse me?” Obi-Wan asked, shocked by what he had
just heard.
“I
think I found your toxin. It’s in your suite,”
Xar’ek repeated.
Obi-Wan took a deep breath and then asked, “Do I
want to know how you acquired it?”
Xar’ek shrugged his shoulders and snickered. “I went
into a room to find out where you and Sakoya were
holed up.”
“Into a room?” Cela asked as she wrinkled her brow
in confusion. “Why not go to the front desk?”
Xar’ek turned toward the silver-haired girl and
smiled. “Because they won’t give out that info. They
would’ve contacted the room and I wanted my arrival
to be a surprise,” he cheerfully explained.
“Typical,”
Obi-Wan muttered under his breath. “And you found
the toxin in the room you broke into?” he pompously
inquired.
“Breaking in would mean I left evidence – I didn’t,
besides I prefer to think of it as creative
exploration,” he snidely replied. “But yes, I found
it in a bag on the bed. I was curious so I took a
look.”
“And
you’re in the habit of taking other people’s
belongings because you were ‘curious’?”
It
was Xar’ek’s turn to take a deep breath as he glared
at the pretentious Jedi. “Figures you would think
that. Actually I found a datachip that made me
question the vials.”
Obi-Wan stroked his goatee, looking irritated as he
listened to the smuggler. “So you took them,” he
bluntly stated.
“Yep,” Xar’ek sardonically replied.
“I
know it would be pointless to ask you whose room you
were in but do you at least recall the room number?”
The
Corellian was enjoying his sparring duel with the
Jedi. “Hmm, I don’t know. Let me think…”
Obi-Wan was beginning to show his exasperation and
Xar’ek knew it.
“I…I
think it was 1138.” Xar’ek tilted his head to the
side and nodded. “Yep, I’d say that was it,” he said
in the same sarcastic tone he had been using.
Obi-Wan found himself delving into the Force to help
him with his patience, which was always difficult
for him to maintain around this particular
Corellian. He didn’t understand why either. Xar’ek
was no longer central in Sakoya’s life – that had
been years ago. Although he is Mara’s father,
he silently considered, which also means that
there stands a possibility that he will be present
in one form or another in Sakoya’s life.
Still, he had decades of Jedi training and yet this
one man managed to get under his skin. “At least we
can find out who the occupant is and turn them over
to local security.”
“We
just need to act, do something, and stop standing
around!” Cela heatedly commented.
Obi-Wan looked at the girl and knew she was right.
“Let’s go back to the resort and check on Sakoya and
Mara. Then I’ll contact Coruscant and explain what
is going on.”
__________________________________*****__________________________________
The
rain had finally given way and the sun burst through
the clouds, its rays streaming into the bedroom of
the Celestial Penthouse, the suite occupied
by Obi-Wan and Sakoya Kenobi.
Lying on the bed were the slumbering forms of two
women. One a mother, immersed in a meditative trance
while the other, her daughter, a comatose victim of
a dangerous toxin – yet both of them entering a dark
void for which they didn’t know the way out.
You have ventured too far, fair Jedi, and now you
are within my grasp.
A venomous voice echoed.
Grotesque laughter filled Sakoya’s mind, flooding
her with its evil presence. She could open her mouth
to scream but no one would hear her – except those
that lingered within the same realm of existence.
I
warned you before and now I will ensnare your mind
as I have those before you. It is only a matter of
time…
Obi-Wan had hailed a carriage and the trio settled
into their seats as they journeyed back to the
resort, much to the teenager’s relief. She found
Xar’ek to be handsome and full of wit and she could
hardly blame Sakoya for being attracted to the man.
He had a spark even she admired. What she found
frustrating was the level of animosity between the
man and the Jedi Master she had befriended. She
quickly discovered that placing them in the same
room was like an invitation for disaster.
As
the carriage traveled on, Obi-Wan unexpectedly
shuddered as a feeling of extreme panic engulfed
him. He could feel himself breaking into a cold
sweat and his heart skip a beat. It took mere
seconds for him to realize that something was
terribly wrong and the source was none other than
his wife, Sakoya. Even as he tried to move he was
stopped cold as his eyes suddenly bulged and an
intense pain plunged into his mind, momentarily
blinding him. Such a vicious attack made him sway
and Xar’ek barely managed to grab the Jedi Master to
stop him from toppling over.
As
Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead, trying to clear his
head, Xar’ek asked, “What the hell was that?”
The
stunned Jedi could barely answer as he fought off an
unexpected wave of nausea. “Sakoya,” he replied, his
voice sounding raspy.
__________________________________*****__________________________________
Obi-Wan had no sooner entered the Celestial
Penthouse suite that he rushed over to the
bedroom door and burst inside with Xar’ek and Cela
right on his heels. It was a matter of steps and he
was at his wife’s side.
“Ohh, beloved…” he uttered as if his heart were
breaking.
Sakoya Jade-Kenobi lay motionless on the bed, her
face an ashen color and cool to the touch, and her
right hand clutching her comatose daughter’s hand.
The
Jedi Master touched two fingers to her throat,
checking for her pulse and was comforted to find it
strong and steady. In spite of that he felt as
though his wife was on the other side of the galaxy,
not lying beside him. He knew that the strength of
their bond was of no help to him now – Sakoya was
beyond his reach.
“Wh-what happened?” Xar’ek timidly asked.
Obi-Wan’s
head fell to his chest and remained silent. How
could this have happened? he asked himself. I
shouldn’t have left her… His guilt tore at him,
causing an ache in his heart that festered like an
open wound.
“Ben?” Cela approached the Jedi and gently laid her
hand on his shoulder.
Obi-Wan needed the reinforcement of the Force and
tapped into the mystical energy, concentrating on
soothing his distraught senses and asking for
guidance. When he finally answered his voice was
still shaky. “In her meditation…she joined her
spirit…with Mara. They are one now.”
Stunned by the news, Cela’s eyes widened and her
hand covered her mouth.
Xar’ek’s countenance was a mixture of sorrow and
astonishment. “I never understood that Force thing
you both are a part of,” he muttered with a shake of
his head.
Obi-Wan slowly tilted his head toward the smuggler.
“You don’t have too,” he replied. “But the fact
remains that as she began to heal herself, she also
began to heal Mara.”
“B-but she was too weak to do that…right?”
The
Jedi nodded. “Yes, Cela, she was…but my willful wife
wouldn’t let that stop her. The result is that she
is now trapped along with Mara.”
“What do we do?” Xar’ek wondered.
Obi-Wan let out a heavy sigh. “Get the antidote and
hope it helps them both.”
__________________________________*****__________________________________
“Regan, my dear, how nice to see your beautiful
face,” Reynard seductively told his assistant as he
gazed at her face on the viewscreen.
“I
am reporting in as you ordered, my Master,” she
returned in the same tone of voice.
“And
have you some pleasant news for me?”
Regan nodded. “Indeed I do, sir. I gave a very vivid
demonstration, as you ordered, to the Clawdite, Rheu
Skeutrn. His counterpart, however, did not receive
the same warning as instructed. He appeared to have
the situation under control and bade me to tell you
such.”
Reynard looked at his servant thoughtfully. “And you
believe him?” he skeptically asked.
“No,
not completely,” she slowly answered. “I planned to
monitor him.”
“Excellent,” Reynard approvingly said with a nod of
his head. “Keep me informed.”
“I
will, sir.”
“And Regan, don’t fail me,” Reynard advised with a
low voice before terminating the conversation.
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